Maersk container

Maersk Line has this month kicked off its new, expanded AE-10 liner service, revamped to better connect continental Europe with key ports in China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

The service alteration includes the addition of the Port of Hamburg in Germany to the rotation, linking it with Shenzhen, Shanghai, Kaohsiung, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Tanjung Pelepas, as well as the Baltic Sea ports of Arhus, Gothenburg and Gdansk.

'The new AE-10 scheduled liner service cuts the transit time of services operated by the Maersk shipping company from 28 to 25 days in the case of Hong Kong, and offers additional direct connections from China and Malaysia,' Port of Hamburg Marketing said in a statement.

The Maersk Sydney container ship kicked off the new service on 12 February.

Containerised traffic with Asia via Hamburg reached a total volume of 4.2m containers (TEU) in 2009, with China leading the way on 2.3m TEUs.